Published: Saturday, January 1, 2011 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, January 2, 2011 at 12:59 a.m.

For the first time in nearly a decade, Marion County will accept nominations to expand its roster of scenic roads.

Beginning Saturday, residents can submit their choices of the county's scenic by-ways that deserve some extra publicity — and protection.

But preserving the 34 existing roads now designated as scenic by the county — as well as any future ones — will also be up for discussion in the new year.

In addition to accepting and reviewing the nominees, the Scenic Roads Advisory Committee will conduct a series of public workshops before the Feb. 28 nomination deadline to evaluate the ordinance governing these select routes.

The panel's intent will be to look at the law's benefits and its weak spots.

Then, sometime in the coming weeks, the committee is expected to forward its recommendations for new scenic roads — if any — and possible changes to the ordinance to the County Commission for consideration.

Although its master plan for scenic roads says the nominating periods are to be held every two years, the County Commission has not opened one since 2001, when seven roads were added to the initial list.

Throughout its 14-year history, the ordinance has overwhelmingly been geared toward preserving the two-lane roads that crisscross the rural, historic Shady community south of Ocala.

That area was the initial focus of the program, and not until that 2001 cycle did the County Commission designate scenic roads north of State Road 40.

Now, the advisory board has indicated that perhaps roads in northwest Marion, which has been cordoned off as the Farmland Preservation Area, deserve more attention.

At a meeting in November the committee questioned why more roads in that part of the county were not on the list and suggested that the nominating cycle offered an opportunity to learn whether residents feel roads in that quadrant need preservation.

One panel member, Michelle Shearer, said she believes the northwest section has many good candidates for scenic designation.

"It is the Farmland Preservation Area, and [the committee] felt that some roads would fit and complement the county," Shearer said.

"That's where most of the horse farms are, and I think there are some roads that people consider very scenic and should be like the Shady area."

Perils of promotion

Beyond that issue, the advisory committee also kicked around the idea of how to better promote the county's scenic roads.

And some members suggested that having more roads from northwest Marion might help launch an aggressive public education campaign to call attention to the program.

That, however, might be a double-edged sword.

Inviting more people to seek the aesthetic pleasure of traveling scenic roads might lead to calls to improve them in order to handle more traffic.

One bit of good news, at least for anti-sprawl advocates worried about the mounting pressure to develop along these avenues, was delivered to the advisory committee by Justin Ryan, a county transportation planner.

According to Ryan's report, the "overwhelming majority" of scenic roads are "well below" 50 percent of their allotted traffic capacity.

Moreover, he added, those roads had seen "little or negative" growth in traffic volume between 2005 and 2009, the most recent traffic data available.

Only two scenic roads were at the "upper limits" of their capacity: the 1.7-mile stretch of County Road 475A between CR 475C and Southwest 66th Street; and a 2.8-mile portion of Southwest 66th Street between State Road 200 and CR 475A.

Those were at 92 percent and 83 percent, respectively, of their maximum volume.

At the meeting, Shearer also raised the issue of strengthening the ordinance to prevent the four-laning of scenic roads.

According to the current ordinance, the County Commission's intent was to save the unique characteristics of the community's rural landscape that were threatened by development and the maintenance and potential four-laning of the roads in question.

The measure says the county "shall" not increase the number of lanes along scenic-road segments.

Since its adoption, however, the ordinance has been amended several times to allow for improvements.

Shearer said some may argue scenic roads can have any number of lanes, but she's concerned that not reviewing — and possibly not toughening — the law's language governing widening could undermine the purpose.

"The more lanes you have, the more it takes away the scenic character of the roads," she said. "It's not going to be different" from other sections of the county.

"If we don't give people different areas to come to, we're not going to be a special area, and that's what I want to see: that the Scenic Road Ordinance protect special areas."

Residents can submit their recommendations for scenic designation in two ways.

They can go online to www.marioncountyfl.org and find a link to the form at the Scenic Roads button under the "About" tab, or visit Planning Division officials at the county Growth Management Department, 2710 E. Silver Springs Blvd. in Ocala.

Only roads under Marion County's jurisdiction are eligible for consideration. State- or city-managed roadways are not included.

For more information, contact the Planning Division at (352) 438-2600.

<p>For the first time in nearly a decade, Marion County will accept nominations to expand its roster of scenic roads.</p><p>Beginning Saturday, residents can submit their choices of the county's scenic by-ways that deserve some extra publicity — and protection.</p><p>But preserving the 34 existing roads now designated as scenic by the county — as well as any future ones — will also be up for discussion in the new year.</p><p>In addition to accepting and reviewing the nominees, the Scenic Roads Advisory Committee will conduct a series of public workshops before the Feb. 28 nomination deadline to evaluate the ordinance governing these select routes.</p><p>The panel's intent will be to look at the law's benefits and its weak spots.</p><p>Then, sometime in the coming weeks, the committee is expected to forward its recommendations for new scenic roads — if any — and possible changes to the ordinance to the County Commission for consideration.</p><p>Although its master plan for scenic roads says the nominating periods are to be held every two years, the County Commission has not opened one since 2001, when seven roads were added to the initial list.</p><p>Throughout its 14-year history, the ordinance has overwhelmingly been geared toward preserving the two-lane roads that crisscross the rural, historic Shady community south of Ocala.</p><p>That area was the initial focus of the program, and not until that 2001 cycle did the County Commission designate scenic roads north of State Road 40.</p><p>Now, the advisory board has indicated that perhaps roads in northwest Marion, which has been cordoned off as the Farmland Preservation Area, deserve more attention.</p><p>At a meeting in November the committee questioned why more roads in that part of the county were not on the list and suggested that the nominating cycle offered an opportunity to learn whether residents feel roads in that quadrant need preservation.</p><p>One panel member, Michelle Shearer, said she believes the northwest section has many good candidates for scenic designation.</p><p>"It is the Farmland Preservation Area, and [the committee] felt that some roads would fit and complement the county," Shearer said.</p><p>"That's where most of the horse farms are, and I think there are some roads that people consider very scenic and should be like the Shady area."</p><p>Perils of promotion</p><p>Beyond that issue, the advisory committee also kicked around the idea of how to better promote the county's scenic roads.</p><p>And some members suggested that having more roads from northwest Marion might help launch an aggressive public education campaign to call attention to the program.</p><p>That, however, might be a double-edged sword.</p><p>Inviting more people to seek the aesthetic pleasure of traveling scenic roads might lead to calls to improve them in order to handle more traffic.</p><p>One bit of good news, at least for anti-sprawl advocates worried about the mounting pressure to develop along these avenues, was delivered to the advisory committee by Justin Ryan, a county transportation planner.</p><p>According to Ryan's report, the "overwhelming majority" of scenic roads are "well below" 50 percent of their allotted traffic capacity.</p><p>Moreover, he added, those roads had seen "little or negative" growth in traffic volume between 2005 and 2009, the most recent traffic data available.</p><p>Only two scenic roads were at the "upper limits" of their capacity: the 1.7-mile stretch of County Road 475A between CR 475C and Southwest 66th Street; and a 2.8-mile portion of Southwest 66th Street between State Road 200 and CR 475A.</p><p>Those were at 92 percent and 83 percent, respectively, of their maximum volume.</p><p>At the meeting, Shearer also raised the issue of strengthening the ordinance to prevent the four-laning of scenic roads.</p><p>According to the current ordinance, the County Commission's intent was to save the unique characteristics of the community's rural landscape that were threatened by development and the maintenance and potential four-laning of the roads in question.</p><p>The measure says the county "shall" not increase the number of lanes along scenic-road segments.</p><p>Since its adoption, however, the ordinance has been amended several times to allow for improvements.</p><p>Citing safety reasons, the commission has voted to widen road shoulders, add turn lanes and install stormwater-control systems.</p><p>Shearer said some may argue scenic roads can have any number of lanes, but she's concerned that not reviewing — and possibly not toughening — the law's language governing widening could undermine the purpose.</p><p>"The more lanes you have, the more it takes away the scenic character of the roads," she said. "It's not going to be different" from other sections of the county.</p><p>"If we don't give people different areas to come to, we're not going to be a special area, and that's what I want to see: that the Scenic Road Ordinance protect special areas."</p><p>Residents can submit their recommendations for scenic designation in two ways.</p><p>They can go online to www.marioncountyfl.org and find a link to the form at the Scenic Roads button under the "About" tab, or visit Planning Division officials at the county Growth Management Department, 2710 E. Silver Springs Blvd. in Ocala.</p><p>Only roads under Marion County's jurisdiction are eligible for consideration. State- or city-managed roadways are not included.</p><p>For more information, contact the Planning Division at (352) 438-2600.</p><p><i>Contact Bill Thompson at 867-4117.</i></p>